Being All In
by artist1157
Summary: "Heist Society" from Hale's perspective.  The title was inspired from the fact the Hale tells Kat he's "all in" a bunch of times throughout the novel, and it really summarizes his character.  Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Hale's POV**

When I heard that Bobby Bishop was the prime suspect in a robbery, my first thought was, "_How did he get caught?"_ Bobby Bishop was no fool, and he was never played for one… until now.

Being in the family meant knowing what the rest of the family knows. And if Bobby Bishop was going down, so were the rest of us.

Which is one of the reasons why I volunteered to get Kat out of Colgan. Her getting in, I will admit, was impressive. She had stolen a new life, which was something that no one else in her family had succeed in accomplishing. But yes, after the _ohs _and the _ahs_ are said, Kat leaving was the biggest blow the family has seen since I became apart of it.

Kat was the protégé, the one who knew how to get a job done, and a job done well. She would never tell us why she wanted to make a change in her life. It was always the same answer when you asked, "I just… I don't want to do this anymore. I want a change in my life. One that doesn't involve the family business."

_Well, look where this change all got us Kitty Kat_, I thought bitterly.

Her family was more or less a wreck. The Bagshaw brothers are "on leave" because of the whole nun incident. Gabrielle has been constantly complaining about how she's the only girl in a man's world. Bobby Bishop is being framed for stealing from a mobster. Uncle Eddie… is well, Uncle Eddie. Even though he may not admit it, he misses Kat too.

That might be one thing we have in common, Uncle Eddie and I. We both won't admit how much we needed Kat. Our needs might have been for different reasons, but we both want her back. Even when I heard about her getting into Colgan, after being impressed, I was more _depressed_. I mean, who would be excited about their best friend leaving them. Kat had moved from _the one and only best friend_ list to a the_ leavers_ list. She became just another person who left me behind to find something better for themselves.

So it was a pleasure to plan this prank on the headmaster. The headmaster and I were never really friends to begin with, and we really didn't get along as much as I would have liked. I even used the convertible my father bought for him as part of the prank, so I technically wouldn't get in trouble for ruining my own car.

I called in Gabrielle for this, and she was more than willing to help get everything in order. By the time the night was over, the sight was beautiful. Headmaster Franklin's car in the fountain, water shooting out of it's headlights. Only when Gabrielle climbed back into the car and we were away from the school did I allow myself to breathe, and smirk.

I made sure that there was no possible way that they _wouldn't _kick Kat out of Colgan for this. Kat was finally coming home.


	2. Collecting the Kat

**In the book, this is Chapters 1 and 2. **

**If you hadn't already figured it out, this is Heist Society told in Hale's POV. I'm disclaiming this right now. I don't own Hale or any of the other characters in Heist Society, nor do I own most of the dialogue.**

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One may have thought that the prank was hard to pull off. But picking up Kat was the hardest part. Even though it had only been a couple months since I last saw her, I was nervous. Yes, I know. W.W. Hale the Fifth- nervous. I mean, my palms were sweating slightly and my tie felt a little too tight, no matter how loose I tied it.

I leaned my head back against the cool leather as the driver took me to Colgan, trying to remind myself that Kat is still the same person that she was a few months ago- right? I mean, sure she gave herself a whole new identity and a whole new life, but she's still Katerina Bishop, isn't she?

I sighed and my eyes snapped open when the driver pulled to a stop. Colgan looked as pristine as it had when I last saw it, except for the muddy track marks leading to the fountain.

I sighed again and straightened my tie. The "hearing" should be over any minute now. And right on cue, the bell chimed and everyone was out in the quad, chattering.

That's when I spotted her, head held high and confident, making her way across the once perfect lawn. All eyes were on her, the whispers and laughing all centered on her. I could imagine what they were all saying.

_Do you think she did it? How could she have pulled it off? Why did she do it? Why did she let herself get caught?_

All were excellent questions. But it was one of the whispering eighth-grade boys who finally broke away from the pack, having the courage to ask her.

"Uh…" he glanced back again at his friends again, as if deciding now that this was a bad idea, "We were wondering… um. How'd you do it?"

That's when the limo pulled up a little bit further, the driver putting the car in park so that he could open the trunk. Kat placed her bags down for him, and turned towards the boys, most likely a smirk on her face as she replied.

"_That_ is an excellent question."

The bells chimed again, and the boys rushed across the quad to class.

Kat crawled into the backseat of the limo, her smirk disappeared and was replaced by a frown.

She leaned back, and sighed, "Well, I guess that's over."

I smirked from my corner. It was obvious she hadn't noticed I was there, as she stared longingly out the window for the life that she had stolen.

She was obviously upset about this, and jumped when she heard my voice resonating throughout the limo, "Actually, it's just beginning."

* * *

After she jumped, Kat looked in my direction. I changed my smirk into a smile.

"Hale?" She asked, as if she wasn't sure I was actually me. "Hale, what are you doing here?"

I had already thought this part of the conversation through, "I thought you might need a ride."

"The headmaster's office called me a car."

I shrugged, my sarcastic nature returning, "And here I am in a submarine."

When she didn't respond I turned my head to look out of the window. I couldn't help but keep a faint smile on my lips. I watched as we pulled out of Colgan's circular driveway, and the fall scenery started to replace it the farther we got away from the gates.

The second the school was out of sight, I waved. "Good-bye Colgan!" I turned to Kat, raising my eyebrows playfully. "Hello, Kitty Kat."

Kat didn't even waste a second, "Hale, how did you know I was…"

She paused for a moment, the light bulb going off. She relaxed a little, crossing her arms over her chest while giving me a disapproving glare.

She held the glare for a couple seconds before sighing, "Hale, the headmaster's car? Really? That's not too clichéd for you?"

"What can I say?" I shrugged, "I'm an old-fashioned guy. Besides, it's a classic for a reason."

I turned away, not having another good reason for having picked the headmaster's car to use in the prank. Well, besides the obviousness that the headmaster would be pissed and want Kat kicked out immediately.

I leaned my head against the window, "It's good to see you, Kat."

She didn't say anything at first, so I got to take her presence in, for the first time in months. Her dark brown hair was cascading around her shoulders in slight curls, pulled out of her face by a headband. She fidgeted with the navy blue and maroon uniform she was wearing, which made her olive skin and blue eyes stand out. Even though now her shoulders where slightly slumped, she was physically pretty much the same girl he remembered her as.

She had glanced out the window for a moment, but when her eyes met his again she asked, "Did my father put you up to this?"

I exhaled a quick laugh and I shook my head. "He hasn't returned my calls since Barcelona." I leaned in closer to whisper, "I think he might still be mad at me."

Her voice was cold as she snapped, "Yeah, well, that makes two of us."

"Hey," I snapped back. "We all agreed that that that monkey seemed perfectly well trained at the time."

Kat just shook her head, the anger still apparent. "You got me kicked out, Hale."

I grinned, ignoring her angry glare and gave a slight bow. "You're welcome."

"You trashed the headmaster's car."

In my best _for-your-information_ voice I rattled, "W. W. Hale the Fourth bought that car _for_ Headmaster Franklin, or didn't they mention that? Granted, it was to make up for a fire that W. W. Hale the Fifth _allegedly_ started in the eighth grade- before they suggested that all current and future W. W. Hales continue their education elsewhere- which worked out just as well since I'm at the Knightsbury Institute now."

Kat shook her head, "I've never heard of it."

"My father got a letter just last week telling him that I have become a model student."

"Congratulations." The doubt was clearly apparent in Kat's voice.

"Yeah, well, I'm the only student." I grinned for a moment before continuing, "Of course, the downside of attending a fictional school is that our lacrosse team sucks. Anyway, if the Colgan School wanted to be technical about it, I trashed _my_ car."

Kat studied me for a moment, as if trying to read my thoughts. If she was succeeding, I would be glad to know what thoughts she finds so interesting. Maybe they're the ones about her.

"I doubt they'd see it that way, _Wesley?_"

So that's what she was trying to figure out. I smiled, "Not. Even. Close."

Ever since I first met Kat, on that prodigal day where she tried to steal my Monet and I was trying to eat my chocolate pudding, she has been trying to guess my name, and not succeeding. Even if she has guessed correctly, I have not told her anything. I never liked the whole W. W. business, which is why I go by Hale. So whenever she randomly sticks a "W" name into a sentence, I know she's trying too hard to figure me out.

"So, how long before you broke into the student records office?" I asked calmly, "a week?"

I suppressed a smile when a rosy blush crept onto Kat's cheeks.

"But you didn't find anything on me, did you?" I raised an eyebrow, to challenge this. I already know that she found nothing, I had stolen my file from the place years ago.

"Kat," I sighed her name. "That's so sweet. And innocent. Naïve looks good on you."

"Don't get used to it."

I shook my head, "Oh, I won't."

We listened to the purr of the engine for a few moments as the limo swerved through the countryside.

She broke the silence, "Why'd you do it, Hale?"

"You don't belong in that place."

"Why'd you do it?" she asked again. I could tell her patience was wearing thin, "I'm not joking, Hale."

"Neither am I, Kat."

"You've got-"

"A job for you," I told her. "And _only_ you." I added before she could protest.

The hills were growing steeper and the leaves scattered as the limo drove by. Kat didn't take her eyes off me, her face a dead serious mask as she said, "I don't _want_ a job."

I almost scoffed at her. "You'll want this one."

"I'm out of the family business," she told me in a last ditch attempt to get out of this. "Or haven't you heard?"

"Fine." I crossed my arms and sank deeper into my seat. I leaned my head back so I could feel the coolness of the leather against the back of my head. Maybe that would stop the headache that Kat had given me, in the mere minutes she had been with me.

I let the silence fill the car as I thought the conversation through. I finally thought of something that I knew would make her tick.

"But are you out of the family?"

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**Let me know what you guys think so far!**


	3. This Just Keeps Gettin' Better

**Chapter's 3-5. Hale's POV.

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Out of all the houses my family owned, the old, six-hundred acre estate in rural New York was my favorite. I never really understood why myself. Maybe because it was the one I lived in growing up, if I wasn't at a boarding school. The house was secluded and peaceful, and it somehow made me calm, unlike any of the other houses my family owned. That's probably why Kat thought that this would be the perfect heist, stealing the Monet in the foyer.

Another reason to like this house more than the others. Here is where I met Kat.

Maybe that's why when I walked through the door I always called out, "We're home."

I walked through the foyer quickly, Kat at my heels. I gestured towards the stairs for a moment, trying to keep her distracted as possible. "Marcus put you in the blue room. You can go upstairs if you want. Or we can go to the veranda and have Marcus bring you something to eat. Are you hungry? I didn't even ask. Do you want-"

"I want you to tell me what's going on."

She stared at me and waited for me to explain. I didn't.

"Please, Hale."

I still didn't answer her, even when she said please. I walked down the hall with Kat, guiding her into the library. It still smelled of stall cigars, but everything was dusted and clean.

Kat brushed past me to sit, but she halted as her eyes found the Vermeer on the wall. She slowly drifted towards it, the moonlight lighting up the painting as she stopped in front of it. Her arms crossed, and I knew that she was trying not to reach out and touch it.

"It's beautiful," she finally whispered.

"It's Vermeer," I stated.

Kat turned back to me, her eyes finding mine as I lingered in the doorway, "It's stolen."

"What can I say?" I asked calmly as I eased behind her, studying the painting over her shoulder. "I met a very nice man who bet me that he had the best security system in Istanbul." I paused for dramatic effect and leaned in closer to Kat's ear. "He was mistaken."

Kat didn't move as I retreated to the big desk to pick up the phone and dial Marcus.

"Marcus, we're home. Could you get some-"

Marcus cut me off to get to the point. "Food and drink sir. In the library?"

"Yeah. The library."

"Does Miss Bishop like corned beef?"

I held my hand over the receiver to ask. "Do you like corned beef?"

When I got a glare from Kat, I only smiled pleasantly in return. "She loves it!"

"Thank you sir, I'll be up soon." With that Marcus hung up, and I collapsed on the leather sofa.

"So," I started, with an easy grin, "did you miss me?"

Kat thought for a moment, before responding with and calm a placid, "No."

I just smiled wider, "It really is good to see you, Kat."

She narrowed her eyes at me, "You might want to remember who I am before you try and con me."

"No," I protested with a shake of my head, "_You_ might want to remember who you are. You want to go back to Colgan, is that it? After I saved you from that place?"

"Colgan wasn't so bad. I could have been normal at Colgan."

Normality. Does Kat know the price everyone else paid because _she_ wanted to be normal?

So I laughed at her. I didn't snap the question out at her, it was too early for that. Instead I told her, "Trust me: _you_ would never have been normal at Colgan."

"I could have been _happy_ at Colgan."

"They kicked you out, Kat."

"Because _you_ framed me!"

I shrugged, "Fair enough." I stretched my arms out over the back of the sofa and changed the topic, "I sprung you because I've got a message for you."

"Doesn't your family own a cell phone company?"

"Only a little one." I told her, and illustrated the point by holding my fingers up centimeters apart. "Besides, it's more of a face-to-face kind of message."

"I thought my dad wasn't speaking to…" she trailed off when she saw me shake my head. She nodded her head slightly and dropped onto the sofa opposite of me.

"So how is Uncle Eddie?

"He's good." I nodded my head to stress the point. "He sends his love. He says the Colgan school will rob you of your soul."

Kat opened her mouth to protest but I but her off quickly, "But that's not the message."

"Hale," she said, growing impatient.

"Kat," I mimicked. "Do you want to hear Uncle Eddie's message or not?"

"Yes."

"He says he's got to give them back."

"What?" She looked at me. Obviously confused. "Uncle Eddie's got to give what-"

I cut her off again. "No. That _is_ the message. And I quote. 'He's got to give them back.'"

Kat shook her head. "I don't understand."

"There was a job, Kat. A week ago. In Italy."

"I haven't heard about any jobs," Kat insisted.

_Of course you haven't, you've been out of the loop for months now._

I shook my head but continued to tell Kat about the job. "Private collection. Very high-end paintings. Very high security. _Very high risks_. Two- maybe three- crews in the world could have done it, and-"

"My dad's at the top of the list?" She asked, obviously knowing where this conversation was headed.

But I still shook my head, "There _is _no list. There's just-"

"Dad," Kat sighed. She thought for a moment before asking, "So? So what? This is what he does, Hale. This is what we all do. What makes this time any different?"

She shook her head and started for the door. I got up and slid my hands around her wrist. She was not going anywhere until she let me explain myself.

"It's different because it's different, Kat. This guy- this guy with the paintings- he's a _bad_ guy."

"I'm Bobby Bishop's daughter, Hale. I know a lot of bad guys."

She tried to pull away, but I pulled her closer. So close that I could feel her chest press up against mine, as well as her breath tickling my neck. I moved my arms up to grasp her shoulders, trying to convey the urgency of the situation.

"Listen to me, Kat. He's not a bad guy like your dad and Uncle Eddie are bad guys." I paused to take a deep breath, trying to compose myself. "Like _I'm_ a bad guy. This guy? His name's Arturo Taccone, and he's a whole different kind of bad."

Kat shivered slightly, and my hands gripped her tighter. I wanted her to understand how truly bad this guy was. You didn't mess with him. If you did, well, let's just say that if you couldn't do what he wanted... you were a goner.

So yeah, I was scared, for her and for her dad. I didn't want her going near him. But in order to save her dad, it might just have to be done. But I calmed down, softened for her sake. When I continued to explain to her all that she had missed I tried to take the hard edge off out of my voice.

"He wants his paintings back. If he doesn't have them in two weeks, then…"

I left the ending for Kat to understand. I didn't want to say it, and she most likely didn't want to hear the consequence.

Kat literally dropped onto the sofa. Like a stone, she fell right out of my hands. Seeing her stunned face, I knew I didn't have to guard the door, she was in no position to make a break for it.

I backed up and sat down in the spot I had recently vacated, waiting for Kat to do something, to say something. She was staring at the coffee table, which sat in the middle of the two sofas. I would've sworn that her eyes were glassy, but Katarina Bishop doesn't cry. In all the time that I've know her, I've never seen one tear fall. Not even when she talks about her mother. Gabrielle said she didn't even cry at the funeral. This girl had a rock solid exterior, even when I thought that just for a second I saw it melt away just the slightest.

"My dad used to be more careful than this," she finally said softly.

Her head snapped up to glare at me when I told her, "Your dad used to have you."

She held her glare until Marcus knocked on the door, and entered with our corned beef sandwiches and lemonade. We ate, and I watched her. I studied her, trying to rememorize her all over again. It was amazing what you could forget about someone, even in a few months. I studied the ark of her neck, the fullness of her lips. Has she always been this thin? Or did she loose weight at Colgan? The lunch isn't anything like Marcus's cooking I'll admit, but it was still pretty decent for a boarding school.

We didn't really talk. I pulled her into a hug when Marcus came back to show Kat to her room. I stroked her hair back and planted a light kiss on the top of her head as her arms gave me a light squeeze.

"It really is good to have you back Kat," I whispered to her as we pulled away, a small, but genuine smile on my face.

She didn't say anything, but nodded her head. She pulled away, but I grabbed her wrist at the last second.

"For the record," I paused and waited for her to turn around and meet my eyes, "I missed you too."

She smiled at that, her blue eyes glimmering as she ducked out of the room, leaving me once again.

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I woke the next morning and dressed quickly. I strolled down the hall to the blue room, where Marcus always puts Kat, on my request. It's not like my mom would mind. I haven't seen her for a while now anyway.

"Rise and shine Kitty Kat!" I called out as I swung open the doors to the blue room, or Kat's room as I've gotten used to calling it. But Kat was not there.

The bed was made, the pillows and shams all put back in order.

I checked the closet and the bureau. There was nothing in either of them.

I sighed and shut the doors on my way out. She had left me again. And I had only had her back for a day, not even a full day at that.

I walked down to the kitchen, where Marcus would probably have something cooked. He's an earlier riser than I am.

I thanked Marcus and dug in to the platter he had ready. I wasted no time asking about Kat.

"Marcus, do you happen to know where Kat has wondered off to?"

Marcus looked at me before responding. "Why, yes sir. I gave her an eight o'clock, first class ticket to Paris. I was assuming she would be needing it, am I not correct sir?"

I sighed, "No you were correct Marcus. Thank you."

So kept myself busy and dilly-dallied all day, trying to think of different ways to get Bobby Bishop out of this mess.

I waited for Kat to come back. When she didn't, I finally changed into my Superman pajama pants and fell asleep in my big, lonely bed.

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"He didn't do it."

I jumped upright, the sound of a voice in my room starling me out of my skin. I bolted upright and turned on the lights, so the intruder wouldn't get away so easily.

When I saw Kat, her eyes on me, leaning against the doorway, relief washed over me. And my heart started to slow down.

"Kat," I groaned at her. I fell back into the pillows and glanced over at the clock. It was three in the morning. I sighed. "Funny, I didn't hear a doorbell."

"I let myself in; hope that's okay."

I smiled, ignoring her comment. "Or the alarm."

Kat finally stepped inside the room and tossed a pocket-size bag of tools onto the bed. "You're due for an upgrade."

I sat up against the headboard of the bed, and squinted at her. My eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the bright light yet.

"She returns," I announced calmly, folding my arms over my bare chest.

To change the subject of my own thoughts I told her, "You know I could be naked under here."

She ignored that comment and continued talking like she had just entered the room. "He didn't do it, Hale. My dad has an alibi."

She dropped into a chair by the fireplace.

"You believe him?"

"Normally?" Kat asked me, a smirk on her face. "Maybe." She shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe not."

Then the smirk dropped and she looked down at her hands. "But I'm pretty sure he couldn't have been pulling a big job in Italy on the same night he was pulling a small job in Paris."

I let out a slow whistle of admiration. Things like this reminded me that Bobby Bishop was one of the men that I looked up to. The guy was a genius when it came to this sort of stuff.

"He's still in Paris?" I asked. She nodded and I swung my bare feet to the floor. "So… what? He's got the loot stashed somewhere and a twenty-four hour tail keeping him from recovering it and leaving town?"

She gave me a sour look. "Something like that."

"What's he gonna do?"

"Nothing."

I shook my head. "You Bishops… one of you won't leave" - I cut my eyes at her- "and one of you won't stop running away."

Kat turned away from me, pulling a buisness card out from her pocket. She ran her fingers over the starch white paper a few times.

"What's that?"

Kat looked away from the dieing fire to stare at me before answering, "Arturo Taccone's business card."

I was up out of bed and at her side in seconds. This conversation just took a plunge for the worse really quickly.

"Please tell me you found that on a sidewalk somewhere," I told her.

Kat looked at him as if he was over-reacting. "He was probably there following Dad, but then he saw me and… he gave me a ride to the airport."

This dumbfounded me for a moment. "Arturo Taccone gave you a ride to the airport?"

I stared at her, and all I could think about was that she got into a car with Arturo Taccone. _Was she insane?_

"Nice pants," she commented, raising her eyebrows slightly. This may have been funny at any other time, but my best friend just got into a car with a mobster who wants to kill her father. See? When you say it that way, it really doesn't sound too rational, does it?

I shook my head as if trying to straighten out my thoughts. "Kat, tell me you weren't alone with Arturo Taccone."

"I'm fine."

"You're fine?" I snapped. "I'm telling you, Kat. Uncle Eddie says this guy means business, and Uncle Eddie-"

"Ought to know, I know." She was so calm that I wanted to pull my hair out. The protective side of me was bursting; causing the anger to flare up inside me as well, and all I could think about was her.

"This isn't a game, Kat." I told her coldly.

"Do I look like I'm playing, Hale?"

She got me there, because she definitely didn't look like she was playing a game to me. She looked way to composed in my opinion.

I growled in frustration and kicked the fallen covers, trying to get my anger out on something that wasn't her.

After a long silence I finally asked, "Well, did you at least tell him he's after the wrong guy?"

"Of course I did," she rolled her eyes at me, "but he wasn't exactly in the mood to take my word for it."

"Kat you've got to-"

"What?" She cut in, her words cold as ice. "Hale, what am I supposed to do? My dad doesn't have the paintings. There's no way this Taccone guy is ever going to believe he doesn't have the paintings, so what? Should I tell my father to go into hiding so he'll have a nice head start when the biggest goons money can buy start chasing him in two weeks? I don't know about you, but the fact that he's got Interpol surveillance detail watching him twenty-four-seven feels pretty good to me right now!"

"This guy really wants his paintings back."

Her voice was calmer when she spoke again, stating her sentence like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So we're going to _give_ him his painting back."

I nodded my head, like I understood what she was saying, even though I didn't have a clue where this was going. "Great plan. Except we don't have the paintings."

"We will," Kat told me. Smoothly, she got up and started for the door. At the doorframe she paused, but only to say, "Just as soon as we steal them."

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**Hey everyone,**

**Please review and let me know what you think. I was planning to do the whole book from Hale's POV, but once again let me know if you guys like this. Would you guys just rather I do Kat/Hale moments throughout the book? I won't continue if no one's interested in Hale. Constructive criticism is welcome!**

**- artist1157**

**P.S. For those of you that haven't, go to Ally Carter's website and check out the plot summary for the second Heist Society book. It's called Uncommon Criminals and is going to be released on June 21, 2010.**


	4. Starting Out Again

**Chapter 6. Hale's POV.**

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**13 Days Until Deadline**

**New York, USA**

My arm was placed casually across Kat's shoulders we walked down Fifth Avenue, by Madison Square Park. Kat's curved form didn't feel uncomfortable pressed into the side of mine, and it reminded me of just before September, when we would do this type of thing daily.

"Oh boy," Kat suddenly muttered to herself.

I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but followed her eyes to see the man, with slicked back hair and a rumpled jacket, in front of us.

"Oh boy," I echoed.

"Are you okay?" I overheard a man in an expensive suit ask the rumpled man as they bumped into each other. The rumpled man steadied himself on the lapels of the man's suit, and they parted ways.

Only, the man in the rumpled jacket stopped short when Kat waved to him and called out, "Hello, Uncle Eddie."

Uncle Eddie didn't smile or acknowledge us. Instead, he opened the door to an old Brooklyn brownstone. I followed Kat inside, the heavy door closing me off to the outside world. The smell of food permeated the air, carrots and cabbage. I looked around, and nothing had changed, except for the pile of wallets that Uncle Eddie had sitting on his sofa. Out of mind and out of sight, they lay forgotten.

Kat's eyes landed on the deserted loot. "You've been keeping busy." She paused to pick up one of the wallets. "Uncle Eddie, there's a lot of money in-"

"Take off you shoes if you're coming in," her great-uncle barked at her.

I stopped to kick off my Italian loafers, but Kat was already running after her uncle.

"You're picking pockets?"

There was no answer from him, so she continued. "Tell me you're being careful. It's not like the old days, Uncle Eddie. Now every street corner has an ATM, and every ATM has a camera, and-"

She may as well have been speaking to a deaf man, because Uncle Eddie just took out two porcelain bowls and started ladling soup into them. I grabbed the bowl he gave me greedily, sitting at the wooden table to start inhaling my mid-day snack.

"It's a different world, Uncle Eddie. I just don't want you to get in trouble."

I smiled to myself because even my cold heart couldn't deny that Kat's love for her family was real. I scrapped the bottom of the bowl, and was startled to read the seal on the bottom.

"Uncle Eddie," I said slowly, "why is the seal of the British Royal Family on your dishes?"

Uncle Eddie's answer was gruff and impatient, "Because that's who I was with when I stole them."

I nodded my head as if that explained everything. In truth, it may not have explained everything, but it reminded me that Uncle Eddie wasn't just any old man, but he was _the_ old man.

"We practice a very old art, Katarina." He paused to toss me my wallet and drop Kat's passport in front of her. "It's kept alive not by blood but buy practice."

Uncle Eddie looked back from Kat to me, and back to Kat. "I suppose you were absent the day they taught that at the Colgan School."

Kat looked down at her soup, and with a sigh she sat down at the table across form me.

That's when the back door slammed open, and two boys hurried in, trying to restrain a large, shaggy dog.

"Uncle Eddie we're back!" The smaller of the two tightened his grip on the dogs collar. "They were out of Dalmatians, but we got a…" He looked up. "Hey, Kat's here! With Hale!"

Hamish Bagshaw was the shorter of the two English brothers, but he held a tight grip on the large dog. "Hey, Kat, I thought you were…"

Hamish stopped short, and looked at his brother for some help. Kat's face was turning red, out of anger or embarrassment I couldn't tell. He didn't say anything, so I addressed Hamish's brother.

"So, Angus, how's the bum?"

Kat's face flooded with shock when Angus started to unbutton his pants. "Good as new. German docs fixed me right up. You wanna see the scar?"

"No!" Kat said quickly, looking away, the anger back in her eyes.

I licked my spoon and helped myself to a second helping of soup, because the first one hadn't filled me up as much as I would've hoped.

I heard Angus and Hamish talk about the dog, and a bar. "Hey, you guys want in?"

I shook my head, just as Uncle Eddie warned them with one word, "Boys."

"Sorry, Uncle Eddie," they muttered in unison. They took the dog with them as they left as loudly as they had come.

Uncle Eddie took this as his opportunity to sit at the head of the table. "You have to ask the question, Katarina, in order for this old man to answer."

It took a minute for Kat to say anything. She looked uncomfortable in her uncle's kitchen, as uncomfortable as I've ever seen her in a place that she could call home. Even more uncomfortable as she said, "Uncle Eddie, we need you help." She looked down at the table to say, "_I_ need your help."

Uncle Eddie got up from the table to go to the counter, pulling out a loaf of bread. Kat's eyes closed as if she was trying to remember something. "He didn't do it, Uncle Eddie. I flew to Paris and talked to Dad. He has an alibi, but…"

"Arturo Taccone paid Kat a visit," I finished for Kat.

Uncle Eddie paused for a moment, to turn around and look at me with knowing eyes. "Your job was to deliver a message."

"Yes, sir," I told him. "I did that."

"Nineteen fifty-eight was a good year for cars, young man."

"Yes, sir." I really hated when Uncle Eddie said stuff like that, because I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Arturo Taccone is not the sort of man I would like visiting my great-niece."

"She left in the middle of the night. She does that." I glanced at Kat for a moment. "Sir."

Uncle Eddie opened his mouth but Kat stood up and yelled, "_She_ is sitting right here!"

She looked around the kitchen, and sat down with a huff, "I'm _here_."

No one said anything as Uncle Eddie was taking out the bread.

Kat sighed and finally said, "Taccone wants his paintings back."

Uncle Eddie studied Kat for a moment. "Of course he does."

"But Dad doesn't have them."

"Your father isn't one to ask for help, Katarina, especially not from me."

"Uncle Eddie, _I_ need your help."

Uncle Eddie took out a long, serrated knife and cut three pieces of bread. He looked at Kat, "What can I do?"

"I need to know who did the Taccone job," Kat told him.

Uncle Eddie came back to the table with some butter, handing Kat a piece of bread. "And why would you need to know that?"

Even I knew where this was going. He wanted to know if she was ready for this, if she was really ready to dive back into this sort of life.

"Because whoever did the Taccone job has Taccone's paintings."

"_And…"_

Kat looked at me for reassurance, and I nodded my head. "And we're going to steal them."

"Eat your bread, Katarina." Uncle Eddie ordered. He handed me a piece of bread as well. We both obeyed his order. I was still hungry, and Kat hadn't eaten anything since we got here.

"This is a serious thing you're trying to do." Uncle Eddie told Kat. "Who, may I ask, is this _we_ of which you speak?"

I looked at Kat, ready to speak but she cut me off. "Hale and I can do it."

"Then this is a _very_ serious thing. I'm afraid it might be difficult to accomplish from the Colgan School…"

I smirked as Kat looked down and told her Uncle something that he already knew, "It turns out the Colgan School and I have had a parting of ways."

"I see." Her uncle nodded but he didn't gloat, for he knew he didn't have to.

"We need a name, Uncle Eddie," I said, interrupting their discussion. I didn't want things to get ugly, not now.

"People genuinely like your father, Katarina." Uncle Eddie said, ignoring me. "Although _why_, I do not understand. But he has friends." He placed a hand on top of Kat's. "Let me make some calls. It might take a day or-"

I smirked again, knowing what Uncle Eddie was trying to do. Kat didn't realize how bad of a man Arturo Taccone is. Either she didn't fear him or didn't care. Whichever it was she didn't understand that the man could have her dead in the blink of an eye. Uncle Eddie was trying to keep her as far away from Taccone as possible, just like I had been.

"We don't have a day or to. We know you can find out who did the Taccone job, Uncle Eddie." Kat stood so that she was towering over her Uncle. "If you can't or won't tell us, we'll find someone who will. But it has to be done. _I_ have to do it."

"Finish your soup, Katarina," Uncle Eddie told her wearily. Kat didn't sit and she didn't eat. She waited for Uncle Eddie as he stood up to go to the pantry. Grabbing a pastry box but pulling out a scroll instead of brownie mix.

"The man who did the Taccone job…" Uncle Eddie laid the scrolls across the table. "We don't know _who_ he is. We don't know _where_ he is."

Her uncle paused to unroll the scrolls across the table, "But we know _where he's been."_

Kat and I left the brownstone house later that night when darkness surrounded everything. Kat walked besides me as I buttoned my heavy wool coat, and a breathed into the cool winter air. Kat shivered and I put my arm around her. We were once again what we were good at pretending to be- just another couple… just another pair of people.

Heavy drops of drizzle landed on my dark coat when I asked, "You ever seen that much security on one set of blueprints before?"

Kat shook her head, "No."

"So whoever did it was really smart," I told her.

"And really stupid." I could practically hear her eyes roll.

I smirked and turned into her, my eyes glinting. "Remind you of anyone we know?"


	5. What Happens in Vegas

**Chapter 7. Hale's POV.**

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**12 Days Until Deadline**

**Las Vegas, USA**

I have learned over the years that there are many reasons why people come to Las Vegas. Some come to gain, and some come to lose. What ever it was, everyone coming to Vegas did so because it has something to do with the above two reasons. But I wasn't sure what the International Association of Advanced Mathematics and Research was doing here.

Kat and I rode the escalators upstairs to the conference room, and we automatically started searching the crowded room.

"I didn't know there were this many math guys," I said as we stepped further into the room. Kat cleared her throat. "And women," I added quickly. "Math women."

Everywhere I looked there were man and women in bad suits, laughing over corny math jokes. I ignored them all and let Kat drag me into an over air-conditioned ballroom. A bald man was lecturing, and we made sure to find seats in the back row.

"So these are the smartest people in the world, huh?" I whispered to Kat.

Kat's eyes were still scanning the crowd. "At least one of them is."

I looked down and pretended to read the conference program. It would look to suspicious if we were both looking for someone. "Where is he?"

"By the projector. Fifth row. Center aisle."

At the front of the room, the professor rambled on, in a language that only few could truly understand, about numbers and lines and God knows what else.

It got boring very quickly. I turned to Kat, my breath warm against her ear, "You know, I don't know that both of us really have to be here…" I paused as the slide changed, looking briefly before becoming confused and uninterested, "I could go make some calls… check on some things…."

Kat smirked, knowing fully what I was up to. "Play some blackjack?"

I shrugged, "Well, when in Rome…."

"Rome is tomorrow, babe," Kat reminded me as she squeezed my hand lightly.

All I could do was nod as tingling warmth spread throughout my fingers, starting where her hand was on mine. "Right."

"Shh."

I wasn't quiet for much longer and I pointed at the screen. " Do you understand any of this?"

Kat rolled her eyes, "Some people understand the value of an education."

I stretched out my legs before crossing them, settling one arm over Kat. It always felt so natural and comfortable for me to do this with her, that I just did it unconsciously sometimes.

"That's sweet, Kat. Maybe later I'll buy you a university. And an ice cream."

"I'd settle for the ice cream."

I smirked. "Deal."

That was the end of the conversation for now. We both sat, my arm over her for the entire first lecture and the beginning of the second. I started dozing off, when Kat suddenly pulled me up and slipped through the open back door.

Kat smiled at the teenage boy who stood outside. But I was the one to say, "Hi, Simon."

The boy jumped but didn't say anything. "So you tell us, how was the lecture, Simon?" I leaned forward and pocked his name-tag. "Or is it Henry?"

Simon didn't answer but smiled as if he had just been caught, which he had been.

"How'd you find me?" He asked casually, but I could hear the strain in his voice. I raised my eyebrows at him and he muttered, "Never mind."

Kat nodded her head to the side and soon we were drifting far away from the incomprehensible world of math. As we lowed back down into the casino part of the hotel, Kat practically had to yell at Simon. "How's your dad?"

"Retired," Simon answered. "Again. Florida this time, I think."

"Retired?" I didn't try to hide my surprise from Simon. "He's _forty-three_."

"People do crazy things when they hit prime numbers," Simon explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "He's actually been consulting with Seabold Security."

"Judas," I teased.

The conversation drifted for a moment, while Kat scanned the crowd, clutching the cylinder in her hands tightly. "Let's go find a blind spot."

We walked through the casino, trying to find a good spot to talk. Simon had already started talking though, his math words becoming a jumbled mesh in my head.

"You know you're smarter than all of them, right?" I finally said flatly. I glanced back at the blackjack tables, "In fact, if you wanted to _prove_ it…"

Simon shook his head, "I don't count cards, Hale."

"Don't?" I smiled at Simon, teasingly. "Or won't. You know, technically, it's not illegal."

"But it's frowned upon." Sweat beaded Simon's brow. He sounded like someone suggest he go running through the desert in just his underpants. "It is _seriously _frowned upon."

Kat sat at a table a by the pool, away form the cameras and away from the noise.

Simon pulled his chair underneath an umbrella. Kat raised her eyebrows skeptically at him. "I burn," he explained simply.

Simon took a deep breath as I pulled my shades down over my eyes, tinting everything a shade darker. "Is it a job?"

I stretched out over a lounge chair, trying to make myself more comfortable. "More like a favor."

Simon seemed to deflate a bit, so Kat added, "For now."

Kat took glance around before pulling out the blueprints and rolling them over the glass table.

Simon leaned over the plans. "Are these the Macaraff 760s?"

"Yep," I answered with the pop of the "p".

He whistled a low whistle, but it sounded more like a wounded bird as opposed to one continuous whistle. It took some practice to get to sound perfect. I would know, it took me years to get the whistle perfect.

"That's a lot of security. Bank?" he guessed. Kat shook her head. "Government?" he guessed again.

"Art," Kat finally told him.

"Private collection," I added.

Simon looked up at me from the table. "Yours?"

I laughed. "I wish."

"Is it our objective to make it yours?" Simon's eyes grew wide as he asked.

Kat glanced over at me and we exchanged a look. I couldn't help but let the grin spread over my face, letting Kat know that yes, I have thought about making it mine. But I leaned closer to Simon to tell let him down, "It's not exactly a _typical_ operation."

Simon wasn't fazed, for _typical_ operation could mean a thousand things these days. But he studied them anyway. His eyes wandered the blue prints for ten minutes before looking up at Kat. "In my professional opinion, I'd say it's a pass. Unless this place is Fort Knox. Wait a second." His eyes shone. "_Is_ it Fort Knox."

"No," Kat and I said in unison.

"Then I wouldn't hit it," Simon told us, pushing the blueprints away from him.

"It's already been hit," Kat confided in him.

"Your dad?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Kat exclaimed as she threw her hands up.

I took off my sunglasses so I could look Simon in the eyes. The laughter and teasing was gone from my voice as I informed Simon, "We would very much like to know who hit it."

"Who hit _this_?" Simon jabbed his finger at the center of the blueprints. "It's not a big list, I can tell you that."

"The smaller the better, my friend," I said as I patted Simon's back. "The smaller the better."

"Can I keep these?" Simon asked, fingering the blueprints as if he wasn't quite ready to let them go.

"Sure," Kat said. "We've got a spare set. And Simon… thanks."

Kat had already stood and was starting to walk away when Simon asked, "This is why you're back isn't it?"

Kat paused and squinted into the sunlight. "Yeah." She glanced at me as I started to stand. "It's kind of…"

Simon waved her away when she didn't finish. "I don't need to know. I was just wondering if it had anything to do with those two guys who have been following is since we left the lecture."

When Kat's eyes widened, I could tell that she hadn't realized that they were being followed. That's when I started to worry. I mean, I had learned almost everything I know from her, the one who is one of the best of the best. It was a low blow to know that one of my idols; one of the people I highly respected and trusted was out of practice.

I looked around and spotted them too. The goons were big and muscular, one of them raising him left arm, pointing at his watch.

"Kat?" Simon asked.

"Keep walking," Kat instructed, her words cold and sharp. Mine would be too.

* * *

Parting ways with Simon was a quite affair. He got a kiss on the cheek by Kat, which had left him blushing and raising a hand to his cheek. I winked at him and gave him a pat on the shoulder, and felt the jealously flare a little. Kat never kissed me on the cheek.

But I didn't read too personally into it because I spent most of my time with her anyway.

"What time is it?" Kat asked as we walked across the tarmac to one of my family's private planes. "Let me think… Twelve hours in the air… That'll put us there-"

"High noon," I told her. I already did the math. "Give or take."

"Okay, first thing tomorrow we hit the streets around Taccone's place. Somebody saw something."

"I got it covered." I told her. And I did. I had made a few phone calls, just like she had asked me to.

"The DiMarcos might be in town."

I suppressed a sigh. "Actually, they're in jail."

She gave me a surprised look. "All seven of them?"

I shrugged, "It was an interesting October."

Kat shook her head, and I could see the gears turning in her head. "Okay, then we should call-"

"I said, I've got it." My voice was firmer now, making a point. Kat stopped dead in her tracks to stare at me.

"Define _got it._"

"Hey, I'm more than just a delightful travel companion, you know." I grinned at Kat. "I'm not exactly friendless."

"Who?" Kat asked. She had every right to want to know who I called. But she would never forgive me if I told her now.

So I tried to avoid names as I stepped around her and continued walking, "A _friend_."

Kat reached for my arm and to stop me by pulling me back towards her. "A friend of yours? A friend of mine? Or a friend of ours?"

I broke free of her grip and stepped away, my hands in my pocket and a dark smile spreading across my face. "Are we going to have a problem, Katarina?"

"What?" she asked, feigning innocence. "I'm just wondering who he is? Someone who you and the Bagshaws used in Germany?"

"Luxembourg, actually." I paused to turn around to face her, my voice teasing. "Technically, the Bagshaws and I did a job in Luxembourg."

Kat looked down at her shoes, the playfulness gone from her eyes. Her mouth opened wanting to say something, but it closed quickly. The playful smirk on my face disappeared too, and I wasn't teasing anymore. "You were gone, Kat."

"I know."

"You were at Colgan."

"I was only there three months."

"That's a long time, Kat. In our world, that's a long time." I took a deep breath and tilted my head towards the stars before looking back at her. "Besides, your heart left a long time before the rest of you followed."

My voice was sad and hollow, just like she was as I dragged her around this past summer, forcing her to go on different heist and teach me all that she knew. But anyone could tell she was just running through the motions. Her mind and heart were long gone then. Hopefully, they fully with her now.

"Well, I'm back now." She turned to started towards the plane. "And there's a really small list of people who can do this thing, and an even smaller list you can trust to do it, so-"

"Your dad and Uncle Eddie weren't the only people who you left when you went away, you know." I don't know what made me say it. But seeing her walk away from me made my heart start to tear in two again. She couldn't leave me again. Not this time, not so soon. Besides, I don't think she knows how much she means to me. She was my best-friend, and still is. And I needed her on this one, even if she didn't think she need me.

Kat turned around as my voice reached her across the tarmac. The wind had picked up, and she shoved her hands in her pockets as her dark curls swept behind her. Her blue eyes were a mask devoid of emotion, but they still managed to sparkle at me. I had to look away from her to compose myself before looking back.

"Either we're a team or we aren't. Either you trust me or you don't." I took a step towards her. "What's it's going to be, Kat?"

Kat didn't answer at first, but searched my eyes for the lies she knew I could tell. I took a deep breath, collecting myself. She shook her head and finally said. "Hale, I-"

Now utterly resolved I told her, "You know what? Never mind. Either way, I'm in, Kat." I paused to slip on my sunglasses, realizing that either way I was with her. I always had been and always will be. "I'm all in."

I slipped past her and climbed onto the plane, turning my head to call over my shoulder, "Besides, I do make excellent arm candy."

Kat nodded her head and followed me on board. She didn't laugh or smile. She didn't grimace in disgust. She just plopped down on the plush leather seats, tilting her head against the headrest. I watched her sink into the leather as I took a seat across from her. I let her have some space and she closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. I draped a blanket over her when I thought she was asleep, but her eyes snapped open as the plane started up. She didn't look at me, but stared out the window with glassy eyes, filled with worry of what's to come.

As I stared at her, all I could think of was, _"Haven't you known? I've always been all in. I always will be all in."_

_

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**Hey everyone!**

**I'm back! I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and favorited this story. It is all so appreciated. It's so appreciated that I'm going really strive to upload Chapters 8-10 by the end of the month.**

**Please review! I love to hear from you guys. Let me know what you like, what you don't like. Do you think I should change anything? Does Hale seem OOC to you? Even just a simple "Hi!" makes my day.**

**Thanks again so much, and I should be typing to you again by the end of the month!**

**- artist1157**

**P.S. I re-read this 5-6 times, making sure that there were no "he said"s when I should've written "I said". Let me know if I change out of first person narrative, or if I make any glaring grammar mistakes. Thanks!**

**P.S.S. For those of you who haven't already figured out... I lied. Heist Society 2, "Uncommon Criminals" comes out June 21, 20_11_. The cover is out now for everyone to check out on Ally's website (I still personally like the the "Heist Society" cover better).**


	6. He Pulled a Ben With a Side of Monster

**Chapters 8-10. Hale's POV.**

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11 Days Until Deadline

Sabina Valley, Italy

I shook Kat awake when we landed in Italy. The minute I laid a hand on her she jumped and bolted upright, glaring at me through her still sleepy eyes.

I only smiled and winked, "Letting it get to you?" I guessed.

She smirked at me, the twinkle returning to her eyes. "Never."

She got out of her seat and waited for the flight attendant to open the door for her. I stayed right behind her, hands out in front of me. I needed to be able to grab her, in case she decided to make a run for it. And knowing Kat she might try.

The attendant opened the door, revealing the private airstrip, one of the most beautiful valleys in Italy, and a teenage girl with a cocked hip and a smirk on her lips.

"No way." I heard Kat say, freezing in her tracks.

The girl on the tarmac wiggled her fingers and grinned. "Hello, Kitty Kat."

Kat opened her mouth, and turned back to me, "Can I talk to you?"

She grabbed at me, but even though she was faster and much more catlike then I was- or will ever be- I was much more studier than her. I moved past Kat, down the stairs.

When my eyes leveled with the girls she said, "Hey, handsome."

I smirked and pulled her into a hug. I could feel her legs lift off the ground and wondered why she was wearing such a short skirt in such cold weather. I mean, it's not like I minded seeing her legs, but to be honest I would much rather see someone else's.

I let go of her because to be honest, I was used to getting girls to slobber over me. Even though Kat or my friend here have never slobbered (except for a cover), it was just a personal habit of mine to start pushing people away before they hurt me. Kat is the only person that I have kept close, besides Marcus.

Speaking of Kat, she still stood frozen, glaring down at us from the top of the steps.

She didn't move until Gabrielle called, "Oh, come on, Kitty, don't you have a hug for your cousin?"

Kat finally sighs and moved down the stairs, passing Gabrielle's open arms and moving into Arturo Taccone's hometown. Gabrielle left her hands out, like by some miracle Kat would come back for her.

Cue dramatic sigh.

Gabrielle grabbed my arm and pulled me up behind Kat. "Hale," she whined as she casually draped her arm through mine, "Kat's not being very nice to me."

"Kat," I said sternly, enjoying that fact that I could be in charge, if not for a little while, "hug your cousin."

Kat's arms didn't move from her pockets. She looked back at Gabrielle with a skeptical glare. I had never really seen Kat show any _real_ affection to anyone other than her father. So when her arms didn't rise up to hug her cousin, I wasn't surprised.

Kat finally sighed and said, "It's good to see you, Gabrielle. I thought you were in Monte Carlo. The Eurotrash circuit."

I bit my lip from making some remark. Gabrielle was quick with the punch back. "And I thought you were in study hall. Guess we were both mistaken."

Gabrielle raised her head up high, pressing herself more firmly into me so that we could both walk down the narrow cobblestone streets. Kat strayed behind us like a third wheel.

"So, where's Alfred?" Gabrielle asked.

"You mean Marcus?" I corrected smoothly.

"Whatever." She said with a wave of her hand. I felt her hand in my pocket just as she said, "Happy birthday." I didn't see what it was, nor did I look down to find out. I assumed they were the photos I asked her to take when canvassing Taccone's mansion. If not, they can wait to be looked at.

"How's your mom?" Kat finally asked Gabrielle, breaking the silence.

"Engaged." Gabrielle gave an exasperated sigh. "Again."

"Oh," I exclaimed. "Congratulations."

"You could say that. He's a count. I think. Or maybe he's a duke." She turned to me. "Which one's better?"

Before I could answer we come to a low, stone wall. I took the pictures out of my pocket. I was right, they were the pictures I asked Gabrielle to take of Taccone's place. The place, or _villa_, was massive, and looked just as intimidating in the pictures as it did in the blueprints.

"This is as close as you got to the house?" I asked her finally.

She chopped on her gum. "You mean the _fortress_? Seriously, nice pickings guys."

"We didn't pick it." Kat reminded her.

"Whatever. The place has a fifteen- foot stone wall."

"We know," Kat told her.

"Four perimeter towers. With guards."

"We know," Kat said with a roll of her eyes this time.

"And a moat. Did you know that, Miss Smarty-pants? Did you know there's an actual moat? Like with _things_ under the water?" Gabrielle gave a full body shiver, showing her disgust.

I sighed and turned away from the bickering cousins, putting the pictures in my pocket and leaning my elbows on the wall. The view was quite beautiful, the fertile land and sheep were really the view of a lifetime. _Right_.

"Fine," Kat said. "What about the police report?"

Gabrielle just laughed in her face, the sound resonating off the stones. And I smiled a small smile too. _Ah Kat_, I thought, _you're just so funny sometimes._

"You didn't check with the police… at all? You didn't ask them about anything?"

Gabrielle smiled at Kat and spoke slowly, as if Kat had gotten stupider while she was away, "Men like Arturo Taccone don't call the police, Kat."

There was a pause, and when she talked her voice was vitriolic, "Those of us who don't abandon our families are able to learn these things."

Kat rolled her eyes again, "Geez, I left for a few-"

"You _left_." Gabrielle's voice was colder then the wind, and I watched silently as the two cousin's battled it out. "And you'd still be behind your ivory-covered walls if we hadn't… You'd still be there."

I shot Gabrielle a look, letting her know that was a close one. Kat wasn't that stupid and she would figure it out soon enough. I glanced nervously at Kat I could practically see the gears turning as she looked from her cousin to me and back again. She wrinkled her nose and I knew we were going to get yelled at.

She only wrinkles her nose when she thinks she smells a lie.

"Gabrielle," Kat said slowly, "how'd you know there was ivy at Colgan?

Gabrielle scoffed, "Isn't there always ivy at boarding schools Kat?"

But Kat wasn't paying attention; the puzzle pieces were being put together and it was too late to stop them.

"_Gabrielle_, Hale?" Kat smacked my shoulder and I jumped. "It wasn't bad enough that you got me kicked out of school but you had to use _her_ to help you? Gabrielle?"

I knew she would be mad. That's why I didn't tell her about it. Why did she need to know anyway?

"I can hear you," Gabrielle sang behind us.

I looked at Gabrielle but gestured at Kat, "She's adorable when she's jealous."

The anger in Kat's eyes was evident as she kicked me in the shin. "Hey! It had to be done, remember? And contrary to popular belief, I don't know that many girls."

The two _girls_ standing in front of me stared at me with the same expression, reminding me eerily that they were cousin. I amended myself quickly, "Okay, I don't know that many girls who have your special skill."

Gabrielle battered her eyelashes at me, "Oh, you do know how to make a girl feel special."

I glanced at Kat, and her whole demeanor had changed. She was tense, and instead of her eyes portraying anger, they portrayed betrayal.

She turned to me. "I'll see you at the hotel." She turned to her cousin, her voice even colder as she talked to her, "And I'll see you at Christmas or at one of your mother's weddings or… something. Thanks for coming, Gabrielle. But I'm sure there's a beach somewhere that wishes you were on it, so I'll let you go back to your business and I'll get back to mine."

With that she turned and walked away. I turned to follow her but Gabrielle grabbed my arm at the last second and pulled me back. Kat had almost made it to the corner when Gabrielle called after her. "You think you're the only person in the world who loves your dad?"

Kat stopped in her tracks but didn't turn to look back at her cousin. I know they weren't the best of friends, and the family business automatically made them competitors for the same spot. But sometimes Kat needs to let her guard down and let herself trust someone other than her father and Uncle Eddie.

"You need me," Gabrielle said. And I was surprised. There was so whining or begging. No doubt or flirt or ditz. She sounded for once like she knew what she was doing, and that she was good at it. "Like it or not, Kitty Kat, the reunion stats now."

* * *

Gabrielle got to drive the tiny European car that she jump-started.

She parked the car on the side of a winding, country road. The night sky was clear and there was a cool damp breeze in the air.

"Tell me again why _I_ had to ride in the backseat." I climbed my way out of the car and stretched, things cracking as I looked down at Kat.

"The billionaire always rides in the back, big guy." She reached out to pat me on the chest, but before she could pull away I caught her wrist, her gloved hand splayed across my pounding heart. Her touch always did strange things to me, and this time things were no different.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked quietly, trying not to let my quickened breath give me away.

Kat looked up at me, honesty evident as she spoke. "This is our only idea."

I heard Gabrielle pop the hood of the car and tinker around, so if anyone passed they wouldn't stop to ask questions.

But I kept my gaze on Kat, her eyes searching mine. I felt like a little boy again, and was reminded of the mother I never had as Kat gently brushed my hair off my forehead. Her fingers barely grazed my face, but it was enough to show that she cared. So I was ready to do this, for her.

I wanted to tell her. "Kat, I-"

"Coming?" Gabrielle's whisper cut me off. Kat's hand dropped off my chest and she turned away from me first, my unsaid declaration of protection hanging on my tongue. But as the two girls started for the woods, I had no choice but to follow.

The woods were not as quiet as I would've liked. The forest floor crunching underneath our feet was very loud and obnoxious.

"Opps," Kat said again as she stumbled. I walked by her, my hands on her waist to steady her as she walked up the uneven terrain. I knew this frustrated her, slipping and tripping all the time- she usually carries and exhibits much more graceful than this. No one said anything to her though. Not one sarcastic joke or comment was made, and now was definitely not the time to joke around.

"That's it," Gabrielle said as she stopped abruptly, almost causing Kat to run into her.

Even at night Taccone's fortress didn't look scary. It was large and looming and would be a perfect little postcard to send out to people, except for the guards with large guns, stationed in the towers.

I was pulled down to the ground by Kat. I could feel the dampness of the grass against me as I lay down on my stomach, next to Kat. I'm sure the girls could feel it too as we lay at the top of the hill, looking down on Taccone's large villa.

I heard Kat sigh, and I knew she was thinking what I was. That Gabrielle was right; you had to see it to believe it. Only a fool would try to break into those walls.

I paused in thought as I studied the stones and the moat. "Groundhog?" I finally asked, deciding someone had to suggest something.

"No time," Kat replied. "The tunneling alone would take days, and Taccone wouldn't leave these woods unpatrolled for that long."

I tried again, "Fallen Angel?"

"Maybe," Kat answered, tilting her head towards the sky. "But even on a night with no moon, that inner courtyard is awfully small to risk someone seeing you or your parachute. And no one builds guard towers if they aren't going to fill them with guards."

I shook my head. There had to some way to get in. _Someone_ had done it before, and _we_ had to do it now. Gabrielle turned over to lay on her back with a dramatic sigh. Kat huffed out, scratching her black ski cap and finally ripping it off her head when it became too itchy.

I stared at Taccone's mansion. There _has_ to be a way in. "So someone either Trojan Horsed or Avon Ladied or… or… maybe someone did Groundhog it. That's a possibility right Kat?"

But instead of answering me, Kat stood up and started walking away, so quickly that Gabrielle or I couldn't grab onto her.

"Get down!" Gabrielle snapped as she grabbed for Kat's leg again.

"Where are you going?" I asked her as she purposefully walked towards the drawbridge.

"Kat!" Gabrielle hissed when Kat kept walking, running a hand through her locks of hair as the rain started to fall. "You're going to get us caught."

My heart sank and I felt like someone had punched me in the gut when she paused, only for a moment to flash a wicked smile and say, "I know."

We watched nervously as Kat came to the drawbridge. She walked to the side of the road, the iron gates looming down at her as she pushed a button to announce her arrival. She looked cool, calm, collected, _confident. _As the gates swung open and lightning flashed, she reminded me of the girl she was when I first met her, not the girl I had been working with over the summer.

Kat entered the villa and we watched silently as it ate her up, swallowing her whole.

I lay on the ground, in the shade of the trees and watched as rain fell and lightning flashed, thunder booing not long after. I sighed. Gabrielle hadn't said a word, and neither had I. She may not admit that she's a huge fan of her cousin, but as Gabrielle watched the doors attentively; I knew she at least cared.

And I did too, which was why I was so upset. Kat didn't understand what was type of man Taccone was. She didn't understand that by going in there and saying one wrong thing, her father could be dead by morning.

"What do you think is going on in there?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know." Gabrielle whispered. "I would say Kat normally isn't this stupid, but-"

"She normally is?" I cut her off with a smirk, trying my best to keep my mind off of Taccone and Kat.

"Yeah," she breathed, her breath showing in the chilly air.

"That's something I use to love about her," I confined in Gabrielle. Her massacred eyes looked at me. She was one of the few people that knew that I cared for Kat greatly.

"I don't see how you can love stupidity," she mumbled as lightning flashed.

"I used to think it's wasn't stupidity." I tried to explain. "I thought it was courage or bravery."

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows at me, "Really?"

"How many people do you know that will march into an armed fortress?"

She gave me a skeptical look. "Are you trying to convince me that she is sane or yourself?"

"Myself," I mumbled.

"You have every right to be mad at her, it's okay." Gabrielle placed a hand on my shoulder. "She _is_ the one who left."

I covered my face with my hands. My head was reeling. The anger I had for Kat boiled up inside me and consumed until it took over. She knew how I felt about Taccone and his goons, and yet she still put her life on the line for this mission.

She had left me. And maybe it was selfish of me to think that she hurt me the most by leaving. So I wasn't ready to forgive her for leaving me for a third time.

That's when Gabrielle hit my arm. The drawbridge was lowing, and Kat was walking through the rain and the darkness, taking her sweet time. She looked as if she didn't have a care in the world.

And that's part of what made her so good.

* * *

We got back to the hotel. With a quick change of clothes we were ready to watch the disk that Taccone slipped to Kat.

I hadn't spoken a word to Kat the entire ride over here, or even now. She hadn't said anything to me either.

"There should be popcorn," Gabrielle's voice called from across the suite. "Am I the only one who thinks there should be popcorn?"

"Milk Duds," I said as I sank into the end of the sofa. "I, personally, am a fan of the Dud."

Kat pulled her damp hair into a bun, pulling on a dry sweater before taking out a notebook from her bag and crossing her less on the opposite end of the couch.

She glanced at me, and I knew that she knew why I wasn't talking to her. I wondered if she was going to apologize. I wondered if she knew that I wasn't quite ready to forgive her yet.

Kat shook her head and pressed PLAY on the remote. Black- and- white images flashed across the flat screen: a long entryway, a professional- grade kitchen, a wine cellar, a billiards parlor, Taccone's study, and finally…

"Stop."

Gabrielle hit pause and the image on the screen was of a room with a marble floor. The only furniture was a bench, and the five paintings that hung on the wall were the only décor.

"Blueprints," Kat ordered, but I was already pulling out the prints and rolling them onto the coffee table.

"Here." Kat pointed to a room that looked like it had similar dimensions to the one on the screen.

"Looks like it's located underground, probably only accessible here." She pointed to the blueprint of the floor above. "A hidden elevator in Taccone's office."

"How do you know that?" Gabrielle asked.

Kat closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to imagine what she saw. "Because I'm pretty sure I was standing right in front of it tonight."

I tensed, but didn't speak as I hit PLAY on the remote. The images kept flashing before our eyes, and it was silent- in the film and in the room. It stayed silent on screen, even as lighting flashed in the window of Taccone's study, and the screen went dark.

In the room, there was a collective sigh and an exclamation of, "_Benjamin Franklin._"

Having only executed one or two of those plans with Kat, it was hard for me to image what the thief did. My best guess though, was just to wait until a stormy night arrived and… well, attack.

The tape resumed, and Kat leaned in closer to squint. "How long until the generators kicked on?"

"Forty- five seconds," Gabrielle answered.

"Not bad," I said. It wasn't, either. In my home, it usually takes a minute or two for the generators to kick in.

"For Taccone's system or our guy?" Gabrielle asked.

I shrugged, as if to say that it could go either way.

"Everything else went black, but this room…" Kat pointed to the vaultlike space on the screen. "This room must be on a separate feed from the rest of the house. _This_ room kept recording."

Kat looked down at the blueprints for a brief moment. "Looks like it's directly under…"

Kat's voice trialed as we all watched as water dripped from the gallery ceiling.

"The moat," we all finished in unison.

"Cool," my voice in pure awe as I watched the screen. Whoever did this was _good_. "Benjamin Franklin with a side of Loch Ness Monster."

"Eww!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "That moat is disgusting. Seriously. No way I would go near it."

"From what I could see, there were at least five Old Masters in that room, Gabs," I told her with an eye roll. "You'd go near it."

"Maybe," Gabrielle admitted. "But if he cut a hole in the ceiling of a room under a _moat_, then why isn't it flooded?"

I glanced at Kat as she got up out of her seat, depositing her notebook on the couch. She didn't even need to look at the screen as she recited what was happening. "He rode a mini-submarine in from the lake and then sealed it to the room's roof. After that, all he had to do was open the hatch, cut the hole, and… _A mini-submarine_," Kat said again with a shake of her head. It looked as if she was trying to get rid of a memory or sudden thought.

Her cousin looked from the screen to her. "How do you know?"

"Because that's what Dad did." A silence fell over the room as Kat walked to the windows that overlooked the quiet streets. Her eyes shut for a moment, "Two years ago. Venice. It was-"

"Beautiful," I said. I remember when it was happening. I had only been apart of "the family" for about two years, and I had gone on many different types of heist with Kat. I had learned so many different techniques from her, and I had learned almost all of the different code names. I was in complete awe when I heard that her father did this. I idolized Bobby Bishop even more for pulling off such a risky thing.

Then again, that's what Kat did tonight and I wasn't talking to her for it. But she was also my best friend, and I have every right to worry about her more than I do her father (who, at the time, still hated me).

"Risky," Kat finished. Her voice ripped through my thoughts. I sighed, "Well, at least we know why your dad is Taccone's leading suspect."

"_Only_ suspect," Gabrielle corrected.

Kat turned back to the screen to watch as a man in a wet suit moved through the gallery. No movement was hurried or wasted as he neutralized the pressure switches on each painting and packed them into individual cases. He slid them through the hole, into the submarine that was waiting outside.

"Taccone said that when the power went out, someone lopped the video feed to the guard's station, so no one saw a thing. What we're watching is from an off-site backup system that our guy either didn't know about or missed." Kat shrugged and continued to explain, "However it happened, no one even knew those paintings were gone until Taccone got home from a business trip."

"What kind of business _is_ he in?" Gabrielle asked, like she was actually interested in Taccone.

"The business of being incredibly scary," Kat answered, at the same time I said, "Evil."

Both girls looked at me, eyebrows raised. When I spoke again my voice was soft, "Arturo Taccone is in the business of evil."

By the way Kat looked at me, she knew I wasn't telling her something. And she was right. I didn't want her to know of Taccone's past, the gruesome and horrible things he has done- killing people and their families for money. I didn't want to scare her or make her even more worried about her dad than she already was.

With that thought I threw the remote on the table. My voice cold and bitter as a talked to Kat for the first time in hours, "So maybe I'm going to handcuff myself to you the next time you decide to take a stroll."

"I was fine," she insisted. "He… likes me. I amuse him. He thinks I'm-" Kat paused, as if she herself hadn't realized until now- "like him."

"You're not," I blurted. Now I looked at her, our eyes finally meeting. "You are _not_ like Arturo Taccone."

She held my glaze and my eyes wandered hers. Pictures of dead bodies flashed through my eyes, stories of death and destruction filled my thoughts as I stared at the girl I plan to have by my side for the rest of my life. This was not what she was like, nor would I let her story become one of tragedy because of him.

"How deep would the river that runs to the moat be at its shallowest?" Gabrielle asked, breaking silence.

Kat shrugged but kept her eyes on me. "Eight feet."

I was the one to look away as I nodded. "I'd say ten at the most."

"How small would the sub have the be?"

"Small," Kat answered.

"Note to self," Gabrielle muttered. "When it comes to moats, deeper isn't necessarily better."

Then I asked, "_How_ small?"

Kat turned to the screen, staring at the masked man who had been caught in the act of stealing five priceless paintings, and possibly Bobby Bishop's future.

I knew Kat had a plan in mind as a smirk spread across her face.

"There's just one way to find out."

* * *

**Hey everyone,**

**Let me know what you think. I tried to let more of Hale's personal thoughts shine through. I hope you enjoyed reading.**

**Also, thanks again to everyone who took the time to review this story. You really make my day!**

**- artist1157**

**P.S. Sorry if this was too long for some of you. I update by "days left", not by chapter.**


	7. Acting the Part

**Chapter 11. Hale's POV.**

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10 Days Until Deadline

Naples, Italy

I've learned from Kat that the Marino & Sons Dive Shop in Naples is a family run business. She was explaining the family business history with an impressed gleam in her eye. I could see how impressed she was by them not because I knew her well, but because I'm sure I have the same gleam in my eyes when I talk about Kat or her family to other members of "the family."

By the time Kat had explained whose son or great-grand son had invented what contraption, I was off and in the shop, looking for the mini-submarine.

I knew that I was slick with _the ladies_, and I've known all my life how to get a girl. Or rather, my good looks and wallet knew how to get a girl… besides the fact that I was naturally charming. That's why when Kat saw that the receptionist was a young woman, she sighed assigned me this task. I got to flirt some information out of a beautiful, young, Italian woman… could this job get any better?

I shook myself into character before I entered the store, the slow swagger already working it's magic because the salesgirl's eyes lingered on my as I strolled to the counter-top and removed my sunglasses.

"_Ciao,_" I said to her as I smiled. "I was wondering if you could help me."

She blushed and smiled back, "I think I can, _signor_." Her accent was thick and unmistakably Italian.

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh, please. I am no more a _signor_ to you then you are a _signora_, am I right?"

She laughed and shook her head, "No, I'm not married if that is what you ask."

"That's good." I told her, leaning closer. "Because I'm definitely not married either."

"What is that supposed to mean, _signor_?"

"Oh, there she goes again!" I smiled at the salesgirl again, dodging her question. "You're making me feel old, _signorina_."

"Well, I'm certainly young enough for you." She moved her hand closer to mine and they brushed against each other. As her hand moved away I grabbed it, holding on for a moment as I leaned in closer …

"There you are."

Kat's voice pulled me back and I let go of the girl's hand as if I had been caught cheating. It felt like the salesgirl's hand shocked me. But then again, I was just caught flirting with someone other than Kat, so maybe my body couldn't handle the strain of "being" with two women at once. I'll have to remember that for the future.

"Hi," I said to Kat, remembering that I was supposed to be getting a name. I felt like I had to make up some excuse, because Kat looked _annoyed._ "I was just…"

Kat sighed. "Dad says you have thirty minutes to make it back on board or else we're leaving for Majorca without you and telling your mother you fell overboard." Kat turned to the salesgirl smoothly, "Of course, I voted for actually pushing him overboard."

Kat paused to roll her eyes and exhale loudly. "I'm his sister."

"_Step_sister." I added quickly. Kat started the act, and since I've learned from Kat that once you start something you have to finish, this act had to be completed.

"Are you almost finished?" Kat asked with what was most likely genuine annoyance.

"Yeah," I said as I shrugged, "They've got some cool stuff."

I turned around and was checking out all of the gizmos and gadgets they had in the store. "So are you going to buy one or aren't you?" Kat asked.

"Uh… yeah," I said as I walked around the showroom. "I kinda like this one."

The submarine I pointed to looked like a model of a regular ship that was shrunken down to fit inside the showroom. But that, obviously, was not true. This vessel was indeed the size and shape that a mini-submarine needed to be. I didn't even have to glance at Kat to know that I pointed to the right one, the _Sirena Royal_.

"Yeah," I said as I stood back to admire the submarine. "I'll take this one."

"_Excellente, signor!"_ The salesgirl clapped her hands in delight and I turned to Kat.

"You've got the credit card, don't you sis?"

Kat followed the salesgirl to the tall counter-top as I walked deeper into the store. In the back I found the smallest and most precise models of any type of watercraft I've seen. I picked up a small model of a world-class racing yacht and moved it through the air. Noises came out of my mouth and I felt like I little kid again, at the toy store. I was just playing with toys. The yacht swam around in mid air, and dive-bombed into a cup full of pencils.

I put the pencils and the model back on the shelf, and turned to see Kat and the salesgirl, their heads bent closely together. I could tell I was not needed, so I went to the mini-submarine that I would be purchasing. I strapped myself into the open seat and steered the submarine, making noises and fighting off unsuspecting foes with bombs.

Kat's voice filled the shop and made me jump back to reality, "I told my brother that the Bernard brothers would already have-"

"Oh no, miss," salesgirl said. "We no sell them to brothers."

"Oh yes. The first went to a business. They do the studies underwater. It's really quite-"

"And the other?" Kat asked, stepping closer to the counter again.

"Well, he was someone who might run in the same… _circles_ as your family," salesgirl admitted carefully, like she was testing the waters before she dropped the bomb.

I unstrapped myself out of the _Sirene Royal_ and walked over behind Kat as the girl whispered, "This man… you see, he was quite… _wealthy_."

When she gave no further information, Kat started to play her more then she was before.

"Well then, I'm afraid…" Kat said, turning to walk away. I was waiting for salesgirl to call back for Kat, and she did as Kat reached the door.

"But he didn't live in Italy!"

Kat turned slowly, "Oh, really?"

"Oh, yes. Mr, Romani."

"Romani?" Kat asked, clarifying.

"Yes," the girl said. "Visily Romani. He was very specific- he wanted his _Sirene_ delivered to Austria."

"Austria?"

"Yes, directly to one of his estates. Near Vienna."

Kat's smile was one of a cat that just ate the mouse she had caught. Her moves were sly and technical and not too obvious. It was times like these I was reminded why she was the one I wanted to learn from.

The salesgirl smiled back as Kat handed over the credit card. Her smile dropped when Kat pointed to the model yacht I was using as a dive-bomb.

"We'll just take the model."

* * *

We went from the shop to the train, heading straight for Vienna.

I was sitting between Kat and Gabrielle for the ride through the mountains. Once we sat down Gabrielle leaned against me, unashamed as she fell asleep on my shoulder. But Kat was different. She stayed awake for a little while, forehead pressed against the cool windows as she tried to think. She didn't stay that way for long though. She soon grabbed a pillow from the cabinets above the seats. Her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off as the first few flakes of snow fell. I knew she would never lean against me for comfort; she never leaned on anyone figuratively- why should she need to literally?

She sighed and sank further down into her seat, fluffing her pillow carefully. She shivered, and I tried not to stir Gabrielle as a grabbed a blanket and draped it over her petite frame. Kat looked so peaceful when she slept, and before I knew it I was brushing her hair back from forehead, caressing her cheek before letting my hand fall. When my hand fell from her face it landed near her exposed hand. I took her hand in mine, squeezing her fingers gently before I stole my hand back and covered her shoulder with the train blanket.

My hands tingled when I touched her, and I felt warmer, happier when I was around her. I even felt protective of her, which is one of the reasons why I didn't like her going to Colgan. Besides the fact that she was leaving me, which she knew I hated, she was also going somewhere where no one could get to her. None of her family members could go visit her, and no one wanted to send anything because you needed a return address. I knew for I went to Colgan for a short period of time.

_I still consider her my best-friend, even after all the fighting_, I thought to myself. Before I considered her my friend at all, she was already close to me. I considered her an idol from the start, even though she was younger than me. I wanted to be just like her, I wanted to master the things she had mastered as a child. She was amazing and I wanted to be apart of her world.

And that's why looking at her, years into the future, it was hard to believe I once saw her as a threat. I mean, how many boys get scared to death because a barley teenage girl breaks into their house to steal their Monet? I was scared of her at first, but things change. I've changed, and she's changed.

I let these feelings consume me. All of a sudden, Gabrielle's head on my shoulder felt wrong. I wanted Kat's head on my shoulder; I wanted Kat to wake up to every morning- not some quiet lonely bed. That's another reason I liked her to begin with, she was a comforting presence in a lonely place.

Kat shifted and her body pressed more into mine. I held my breath, waiting to see if she would move some more. She didn't, and I breathed out, relaxing. I shook my head, trying to get these confusing feelings sorted.

_Enemy. Friend. Partner. LOVER?_

The last one popped into my head and made my mind spin even more. We acted like a couple all the time. Walking down the street, undercover, her hand always found mine or my arm always wrapped around her waist or shoulder.

Gabrielle yawned as she woke up to me staring, or studying, Kat. She tried to brush my hair out of my face but I pushed her hand away. There was only one person I would allow to touch me like that.

Gabrielle looked between Kat and I, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

I glared at her and she smirked. "It's okay to love someone you know. Other than yourself."

I sighed, not finding the joke funny. "I know."

Gabrielle's smirk vanished, her facial expression serious as she whispered. "You know, she's not going to wait around for you forever. She has left once already, and would still be gone if it weren't for us."

"Well what do you want me to do?" I whispered back to her. "Get down on one knee and tell her that I care about her and want her in my life?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "No." She paused as she looked around the train. "You only do that if you know you love her. Otherwise it would be a complete waste of your time and hers."

I wanted to say something, anything, to deny what Gabrielle said, but she was right. Kat had learned the hard way with her mother that in this business, you can't afford to waste time.

Gabrielle left to get her blood flowing again, leaving me alone with a sleeping Kat. The train bumped and Kat jerked, her body shifting itself closer to me without knowing it.

As my body warmed to hers I thought about what Gabrielle had said. Could all of this, these feelings and emotions, mean I'm falling in love with Katarina Bishop?

* * *

**Hey everyone,**

**I wanted to thank all of you who have commented. Thank you for your kind reviews and positive attitudes, you're comments are all so wonderful to read and really brighten my day. **

**Like always, don't forget to review! You're welcome to make a request or suggestion for anything. I've tried to do some more Kat and Hale "fluff" (as requested), and I hope this chapter was an improvement for those of you who are looking for that.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**- artist1157**


	8. The Chelovek Pseudonim

**Hale's POV. Chapters 12-13.**

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**9 Days Until Deadline**

**Vienna, Austria**

"Hello Marcus!" I called out as we approached the car waiting for us. The chilly morning caused white whips of air to appear as I spoke.

"I suppose you had a nice flight, sir?" Marcus asked, polite as always.

"Yes Marcus, thank you for asking."

"Did you have a nice trip, miss?" Marcus turned to Kat, waiting for an answer. Kat look dazed though, and was staring around her, as if she was waiting for something to pop out at her any minute.

I lightly touched her arm and she snapped out of the daze she was in. She looked at Marcus and nodded her head before staring at her feet for a second. Her eyes closed and her fingertips pressed to either side of her nose, as if she had a headache. But she quickly shook it off, and was seated in the car. Her eyes quickly closed again, and time passed as she went in and out of consciousness. I knew Kat, and this was not like her. Something was seriously bothering her.

And it didn't help that when we got the to the hotel room that had been reserved, we opened to door to Uncle Eddie, his arms open wide.

His eyes met Kat's and a challenge glinted in them, "Hello, Katarina." He paused before continuing. "Welcome to Vienna."

Gabrielle rushed past Kat and into Uncle Eddie's arms and started to talk at him in rapid Russian. I did not understand the words that were being said but I understood the meaning of the exchange.

I took off my hat and my coat, hanging them in the coat closet as Kat stood there to awkwardly watch the exchange.

Uncle Eddie held Gabrielle at arm's length. "Your mother?"

"Engaged," Gabrielle said with a sigh.

"He has art?"

"Jewels," Gabrielle said. "Family stuff. He's a count."

"Or a duke," I chimed in.

"I get them confused," Gabrielle confessed.

"Who doesn't?" Uncle Eddie agreed with a shrug. It was clear Gabrielle had always been a favorite of his as beamed down at her. "It's good to see you, little one." He looked down and scanned her shot skirt. "I only wish I were not seeing quite so much of you."

Gabrielle didn't even register the slight insult. Instead she kept talking. "It's good to see you too. But how did you-"

Uncle Eddie shook his head. With Uncle Eddie the question was never _how_ he got gotten there, it was _why_. Even above that, you always had to think _what has he come is tell me._

Uncle Eddie settled in a seat close to the fire and looked up at Kat. "Have you been to see Signor Mariano?"

Kat did not answer, but held her uncle's gaze just as fiercely as he held hers.

"Visily Romani." He was talking to all of us but his gaze still lingered on Kat. "This name is not familiar to you?"

"Is it an alias?" Kat asked.

"Of course."

"And the shipping address here in Austria?" I asked.

"You have indeed been busy." Uncle Eddie chuckled but then grew serious. "I only wish it were not for nothing."

"Who is he?" Kat asked.

"He is no one." Uncle Eddie's eyes finally shifted to someone other than Kat, and landed on Gabrielle. "He is everyone."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they tried to mold this thought over in their head. It made absolutely no sense.

"I…I don't understand," Kat finally said with a shake of her head.

"It's a Chelovek Pseudonima," her uncle said. Gabrielle gasped and Kat blinked against the firelight, as if she wasn't sure her Uncle was being serious. The room went quiet as the snow feel quickly outside.

"What's a Chelovek Pseudonima?" I finally asked.

Kat looked at me and blinked, like she just remembered that I still don't know all the thief talk that I should, that I wasn't a native speaker.

"What?" My voice rose in frustration when they all sat and stared at me. "What's wrong? What is a Chelovek Pseudo-"

"Alias Man," Gabrielle whispered. "A Chelovek Pseudonima is an Alias Man."

The literal translation didn't make any sense either. An _Alias Man._ What the hell is that supposed to mean? I kept quiet but I was still frustrated. Kat glanced at me and must have seen it in my eyes.

"The old families..." Kat explained, staring at me, "They had names- aliases- that they only used when they were doing things too big, too dangerous- things that they had to keep hidden… even from each other. They were secret names, Hale. _Sacred names._"

It started to sink it but I didn't fully understand as Kat looked to Uncle. He finally said, "If Visily Romani were real, he would be four hundred years old and the greatest thief who ever lived."

I looked at the three thief's sitting in front of me in turn, trying to mask my confusion. "I still don't understand."

"It is an alias that is not used lightly, young man." Uncle Eddie was answering me, but looking at Kat. "It is a name that is not used lightly by simply _anyone_."

Uncle Eddie paused before he stood from his chair. "That is finished Katarina. I will tell you father. I will try to make amends with Mr. Taccone."

"But-" Gabrielle was on her feet.

"A Pseudonima is a sacred thing!" her uncle whirled around. "Any job done in the name of Visily Romani will not be undone by children!"

With that Uncle Eddie turned and walked over to the door. Gabrielle look down at the shoes, her eyes downcast as she looked like shed been slapped and ridiculed like a small child. Kat looked hurt too, and I knew that Uncle Eddie had spoken to us like we were little children. And I knew that even when Kat was young, no one had ever talked or treated her like she was a little girl.

Uncle Eddie stopped at the door, where Marcus was waiting for him with his coat. "You may go back to school if you wish, Katarina." He reached for his hat as Marcus reached for the door. "I'm afraid that this is beyond even you now."

With that, Uncle Eddie walked out the open door, Marcus swinging it shut behind him.

Kat looked crushed as she sat on the couch, her eyes were out of focus as she thought things through. I could hear Gabrielle already talking about plans to stay with some boy in Switzerland and I asked Marcus to bring up some food when he got the chance. I figured everyone needed to eat in a time of crisis like this.

Kat remained still on the couch. She barely watched us as we moved around the room. I heard Gabrielle on the phone with her new guy, chatting as if she were arriving in town tomorrow.

I sat down on the couch across from Kat, and watched her stare off into space. Her eyes moved occasionally, flickering from me to Gabrielle as she processed what Uncle Eddie had told us. Knowing Kat, she was probably thinking of a way to get those painting's back anyway, without Uncle Eddie's help. That was the dangerous thing to do, but I knew Kat would do it for her dad.

"You know we could always…" I started to suggest going back to the states, to recuperate before trying to track down Taccone, but Kat was already up and moving towards the door.

"I'll be back…" she started, and stopped when she turned and saw my face drop. I hated when she said that to me. Doesn't she know that I would do almost _anything_ to make her stay? I would write a check, sell my Monet, or sell my soul for her just to stay with me. I've always just wanted her to _stay_.

Her eyes gleamed and she choked at a pitiful, "I'll be back _soon_."

I knew that she said that for my benefit, to make me feel better. It didn't.

* * *

I glanced down at my watch for the tenth time in the hour. I expected her back by now, it had been four hours since I had last seen her and I was starting to get worried about her. This was not like her, to just leave for so long. _Maybe she got caught up somewhere._

Yeah, right. The last time Kat got caught up somewhere she ended up at boarding school for months. _Maybe that's why you're so worried. Scared she won't come back_.

I'm always scared she won't come back. Every time she leaves I wanted to call her back. The more I attached myself to her the more I had to detach myself from her. It was a two-way battle.

I finally found Kat, staring into a bakery-shop window. I breathed a sigh of relief and my pulse slowed down immediately. I turned to the nearest stand and bought her a cup of hot chocolate. She had to be freezing by now.

I snuck up behind her, happy to have found her in the heavily falling snow.

"If you die of pneumonia, I'm pretty sure there are at least a dozen guys who'll try to kill me and make it look like an accident."

She glanced at my reflection in the window, and gratefully took the warm hot chocolate that I offered her. I took off my heavy wool coat and draped it over her shoulders when I saw her shiver.

I watched her and she turned to look up and down the street. The snow started to fall even harder, and it caused me to look up into the sky. I always felt so young in places like these, places that were so old and had so many stories to tell.

"What do we do now, Hale?" Kat's eyes watered as she spoke and she turned away from me so I wouldn't see a tear fall. "What do we do now?"

I knew that Kat was extremely upset. I guess I could understand too, if you're uncle just came to you and said that you couldn't do anything to save your dad from getting killed off by a mobster.

"Uncle Eddie said not to do anything." I told her, trying to convince myself it was the right thing just as much as I was trying to convince her. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her down the street. She was in no condition to walk back on her own. The thing with Kat was that she has always been a very family oriented person. No matter how hard she's tired, she would always give in to help her family, no matter what.

That was something I loved about Kat, and had always thought of it was strength of hers. Now I could see how it was a weakness, and how Taccone was using this weakness to get to Kat. I hated Taccone even more now, because he was using my best friend. Using her, to steal something that had nothing to do with her.

"Do you trust Uncle Eddie?" I finally asked her. I had to knock some sense into her, before it was too late.

"Of course. He'd do anything for me."

I stopped, by breath a fine mist as a talked to Kat. "What would he do for _your dad_?"

Kat sighed and she shook her head, most likely just realizing that Taccone was never going to see those paintings again.

Kat brought the cocoa to her lips, but brought it away quickly when she realized that it was too hot. She started into the swirling chocolate as her mind drifted somewhere else.

"We're crazy." I said, shivering without my coat. I took Kat by the arm, and tried to lead her into the shelter of a nearby café. She didn't budge.

"What is it?" I asked, stepping closer. She was staring into her hot chocolate, like it was the most endearing thing in the world. She suddenly closed her eyes, as if she were trying to picture a scene in front of her.

"Kat." I called again, trying to break through her concentration. "I said-"

"Why doesn't Taccone go to the police?" Kat blurted out all of a sudden.

I held my hands out. The answer was quite obvious, but she still expected one from me. "He doesn't like the police. And he doesn't want them getting their nasty fingerprints all over his pretty pictures."

"But what if it's more than that?" Kat prompted. "Why keep them hidden under the moat? Why not have them insured? What if…"

"They aren't really _his_?"

This breakthrough totally changed things. We were looking for in the wrong place before now.

"Kat-"

"Warsaw." She said as church bells began to chime. "We need to go to Warsaw."

With that, she grabbed my hand and started to pull me back to the hotel with a new sense of purpose. The whole way back I let the warmth from her hand fill my cold body up. When we got to the hotel Marcus scheduled the private jet to fly to Warsaw in the morning. As we got ready for bed in the hotel sweet, Kat and I didn't talk, but rushed to get ready.

It was late when we got into bed, and Gabrielle was long gone from the sweet, a note left on the coffee table explaining that she left for Switzerland.

"Goodnight," Kat said as she smiled softly. I turned around to give a small smile back, "Goodnight, Kat."

She walked over to me and her arms wrapped around my neck. My arms wound themselves around her waist and I buried my face into her neck, her hair giving off a strawberry scent.

"Thank you."

"For what?" I asked against her skin.

She pulled away to look me in the eyes, her hands resting against my chest. "For being there for me, even when I wasn't for you."

I knew it was hard for her to admit she was wrong or to apologize to anyone, so her opening up to me made my heart glow.

"I'm there for you, Kat. Always."

With that she kissed my cheek gently, and I was too surprised to move. I'm usually the one that initiates any kind of contact with her. Her lips lingered for a moment before she turned to climb into her bed, shutting the light off so I wouldn't see her blush.

But little did she know that I was blushing too, my hand raised to my check as if holding her kiss there.

* * *

**Hey everyone,**

**Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Same old lame school excuse. **

**Thank you again to everyone who has been favoriting and reviewing this story. It means so much to me that you guys want to see more. ****I even added in some extra fluff at the end for those of you who've been asking for it. Too much for you? Too little? Let me know what you think.**

**Thank you all so much for your continuiing support!**

**- artist1157**


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